provider
AmericanOther Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of provider
Explanation
A provider is a person who gives someone something they need. If your parents both have jobs so they can feed you and buy you what you need, you can call them providers. Your mom's a provider if she works so she can care for you, put food on the table, and send you to school. There are other types of providers as well, although they all give you something you need, often a service. Your school is a provider of education, and the pharmacy around the corner is a provider of medication, makeup, and magazines. It's increasingly common to call your main doctor a "primary care provider."
Vocabulary lists containing provider
Father's Day Words
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 5
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"A Raisin in the Sun," "My Father is a Simple Man," and "My Mother Pieced Quilts"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She also noted that patients experiencing cognitive problems during cancer treatment should consult their healthcare provider before starting any intervention to ensure it is appropriate for their individual situation.
From Science Daily • Jun. 10, 2026
The data-center developer announced an unnamed large cloud provider signed a 15-year lease at a new artificial-intelligence campus.
From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026
Investor sentiment has improved even more drastically for the speculative-grade CoreWeave, a former bitcoin miner turned prominent AI cloud-computing provider.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
SailPoint fell 9% after the software provider posted fiscal first-quarter adjusted earnings that beat analysts’ estimates.
From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026
Certainly it was the emptiest of his threats, for he was nothing if not a provider and a bulwark.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
